Backpacking in Zion National Park

Zion is a beautiful National Park in Utah with over 90 miles of amazing hiking and backpacking trails. Zion was one of the National Parks on my backpacking bucket list for a while. So my Dad and I decided we were going on a road trip and our first stop was going to be Zion! While there are so many amazing day hikes into and around the park, if you plan your backpacking trip right you can hit a few of them along your journey. Getting permits early on and planning early will be beneficial as Zion is becoming more of a backpacking gold mine (especially during summer and fall). We were lucky enough to get our permits only a month out before August because of cancellations. You can apply for permits online, over the phone, or in person. Here is the link to the official National Park wilderness permits.( Zion Wilderness Permits )

We originally wanted to do the East Rim trail but we couldn’t find permits and wanted a longer adventure in the beautiful National Park. We changed our plans to do the West Rim Trail from Lava Point down to the Grotto and back. This would be about 36 miles round trip with a 3,600-foot decent into the canyon and back up. For the West Rim Trail, you should either leave one car at the bottom and one at the top or plan to hike back out if you’re feeling eager (which was our plan). There is also a shuttle service you can hire for extra money to take you back to your original starting location.

We started our hike in the late evening after sunset at Lava Point. Because of overnight permits being limited we had to hike into Wild Cat Canyon a few miles to sleep overnight and then hike back out in the morning to begin our journey on the West Rim trail. The first 9 miles is along a ridge and then the endless views of Zion canyon begin. There are only a few spots to fill up water, most of them being small natural springs out of the ground, so you should make sure you read the signs and don't miss them. If it is a dry year bring a second type of filtration system for water, because a pump is almost not doable.

Lave Point

Wildcat canyon

Zion

Zion

Zion

Zion

Along our journey we met many people but stopped and talked to two Texas backpackers, John Franco and Shane! Our plan was to make it to Angels Landing that day, a beautiful scenic and very popular hike that you can also reach from the other end of the hike in the Grotto. They were heading the opposite way and told us with only a few hours of daylight it would be impossible to make it back to our designated camp site that night. We shook hands and went our separate ways, after a few more miles of hiking and the elevation significantly started to drop we realized we were in over our heads and decided to head back and set up camp. On our way back we hear someone call our name and it was the two guys we met previously. They had ran out of water and had to turn around. Our original plan took a turn and we helped them with their water situation by offering to hike back to the nearest watering spring(Potato Hallow Meadow) and fill water for all of us if they would give us a ride back to our car at the end of the journey because it would be difficult to hike to the Grotto and back within the same day because of the steep terrain and miles. That evening we finished our hike in the dark along the ridge and watched the beautiful sun set over Zion Canyon.

Zion Canyon

zion

zion

The extra miles added to our hike and all the back tracking was worth the journey because the sunset over the canyon was incredible! The next morning we packed up camp and continued our hike back down towards the grotto and angels landing but this time with our new friends! We had about 9 - 10 more miles to go that day before reaching the Grotto. As we dropped down into the canyon from the ridge the scenery changed immensely. We stopped at the last spring Cabin Spring) before descending down into a section known as "Little Siberia". This spring can be easy to miss, so watch for the sign because there is not another place to fill up water until you reach the Grotto. Along this part of the trail there are many lookouts, one known as Scouts Lookout.

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zion friends

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The trail then begins to merge with the one connecting you to Angels Landing. The trail begins to get crowded but the extra few miles and effort to reach the top of Angels Landing is well worth it. Fortunately our friends offered to watch our packs so we could hike up Angels landing since it was our last day hiking in Zion.

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After hiking to the top of the iconic Angels Landing, which is a must see if visiting Zion National Park, the views continue to impress as you finish the decent down to the Grotto. After reaching the end of our long strenuous journey of over 32 miles, we took advantage of finally being able to take a swim in the Virgin River before hopping on the free shuttles that take you back to the visitor center. If you are not able to do the full backpacking trip I recommend starting from the grotto and making it to one of the many lookouts and view points along the west rim trail or starting from lava point for a little longer of a hike and take in the views from the top of the ridge looking down into Zion Canyon. Also check out Wild Cat Canyon from the same starting point for another beautiful canyon view, East Rim trail and observation point.

zion friends 2

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Overall, backpacking the West Rim trial was a learning experience but we met two amazing people we got to share our journey with, life long memories with my dad, and you can't forget the blisters that were almost crippling! But the epic views are well worth it! Next stop on our road trip, is Arizona!!

See where we went on our journey through Arizona ---> Arizona Explorations

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